Help with snake identity

[Guest]

Lutz i gather your friend lives on north shore of sydney thats where the golden crowns are mainly found they are also present lower blue mountains they favour areas with good rainfall.I used to find large numbers of these snakes on the wollongong escarpment and coastal plain they often are found under tin and debris around houses being nocturnal they are often found chewed up by felines and found seemingly discarded.On occasion i found specimens of this snake that were huge being sex dimorphic they were M? F? sometimes more than one hatchling was found together under rocks on soil in september and one hatchling was observed consuming an adult lampropholis guichenoti (garden skink with vertebral stripe) uner tin on a overcast day.

 

[hugsta]

I rescued a golden crown out near Kellyville, great little snakes. Only about 50cm give or take fully grown.

 

[Brodie]

Oldy,

Your very lucky to see them in the wild. I searched frantically for them when I was last down in Sydney, but didnt get any.. bastards!

Ah well, perhaps next time!

 

[AGAMIDAE]

soory guys it a Golden Crowned snake Cacophis squamulosus, note that the crown is broken at the back, the other three white crowned (harriettae) NorthernDwalf (churchilli) and southern Dwalf (kreffti) all crowns are joined. Although... I have done alot of research, note also in the Qld Museum link fuscus but up you will see an albino harriettae this is one that I found in 93 and published article on it in herpetofauna...

squamoulosus link http://www.kingsnake.com/oz/snakes/elapids/csquamulos.htm
harriettae link http://www.tvwc.org/HTML/crowned snakes.htm
kreffti link http://www.geocities.com/tassonomia/Materiale/Cacophiskreffti1.jpg
churchilli link http://www.jcu.edu.au/school/tbiol/zoology/herp/fullsize/GC Cacophis churchilli.jpg

 

[Linus]

Yep I grew up on Sydneys northern beaches and once found 3 Golden Crowns in my neighbours backyard in one day(It was a big backyard . Really cool little snakes that can put on a good show when you first come accross them. I also often found them in the same habitat as Marsh snakes.

 

[AGAMIDAE]

up here in brisbane you can find squamouslosus, harriettae and kreffti in your back yard at the same time, these some of my fav snakes...and yes linus they do but on a really good display

 

[Fuscus]

OK - I stand corrected


again

 

[PilbaraPythons]

Jonathon
I would be very surprised if some venoms directly inhaled wouldn't kill a person. After all many drugs are taken this way.Ask Browns

 

[Guest]

Fuscus reckon i got unfair advantage mate there was quite a few in wollongong backyard.Brodes there not always easy to find under debris etc they really avoid drying out with heat and so can be extremely nocturnal in warm weather they were abundant in forests around coffs harbour and could often be found under the bark of trees which had been left on the ground after forestry activities.Often found crossing or hunting on roads on warm nights in their distribution.

 

[Jonathon]

I e-mailed Brian Bush a few months ago about venom and that was in the reply I got back.

 

[Moclobe]

PilbaraPythons,

If you were silly enough to inhale snake venom then you could very well kill yourself. The reason that drugs are taken that way is because they can be absorbed quickly through the nasal membranes.

Regards David

 

[PilbaraPythons]

Yeah in the past there have been a few problems with people accidentally breathing in dust or particles off dried venom in some of the venomon extraction laboratories. Very nasty stuff, David Williams (Toxinologist) would know a lot more about this issue I?m sure.

 

[AGAMIDAE]

OK - I stand corrected


again

not a all fuscus can get difficult at times

 

[Guest]

Never been fortunate enough to see a white crowned snake Agamidae but i found quite a few krefts dwarfs at ourimbah, wyong and coffs harbour mostly under bark on the ground.Whats with the one that looks like a krefts dwarf in the atherton tablelands area is it a sub species or the same does anyone know my coggers is 80s.

 

[AGAMIDAE]

yes the sub-species is Cacophis churchilli